


sunset of civilization

by chadsuke



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Gen, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-03-25 09:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13831413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chadsuke/pseuds/chadsuke
Summary: "She’s born a patchwork of nations, a quilt of places, clans, memories long forgotten and secrets long buried. Uzushio kisses her, crowns her with its jewels. Kumo holds her close, wraps its arms around her and never lets her go. Iwa touches her, two gentle strokes, and retreats into the Earth."An Uzumaki Sakura Story.





	1. Prologue

She’s born a patchwork of nations, a quilt of places, clans, memories long forgotten and secrets long buried. Uzushio kisses her, crowns her with its jewels. Kumo holds her close, wraps its arms around her and never lets her go. Iwa touches her, two gentle strokes, and retreats into the Earth.

Konoha surrounds her, is every wall, every tree, everything she touches, but it does not touch her. It refuses to.

It will not look past her knit pattern to see the Will of Fire within.

* * *

Baba is born in Uzushio.

“Tell me about it, Baba,” Sakura pleads, curled up in bed next to her grandfather. It’s her favorite topic – he always shares. He hmms, closing blind eyes behind pale, papery lids as he thinks of what he will tell her now.

After a long moment of thinking, he smiles his crooked smile. “Did I tell you about the trees?” When his granddaughter shakes her head, he nods. “They grew everywhere – many a gift from Senju Hashirama. But Uzushio had their own trees. Red, just like our hair.” Baba’s hair has long gone gray, but Sakura has seen in pictures how it was once as red as Mama’s, and the little girl grins.

“Were there any pink trees?” She reaches up to tug at her short locks, and though Baba cannot see her, he pats her head, on the same line of thought.

“Yes. They changed with the seasons. White in the winter, pink in the spring and fall, and red in the summer.” He’s staring at the wall, staring at something she can’t picture, but Sakura squeezes her eyes shut and tries, tries so _hard._ “You never saw prettier flowers.” Baba chuckles. “Well, aside from you, my little petal.”

She doesn’t blush, because Baba is Baba and always like that, but her grin grows a little bigger as she opens her eyes. “I am very pretty, Baba,” Sakura says, assured. She looks like her Bibi, and she likes that.

Her grandfather ruffles her hair again. “I wish you could see them,” he says, and the little girl wishes with all her heart that she could. “You would love them…”

Sakura presses her lips together in a thin line. “Do you think there’s any left in Uzushio?”

Baba… hesitates, and pats her head. “I don’t know, petal. Uzushio was turned to dust.”

Well, that decides that. “Someday,” Sakura says, “I’ll go to Uzushio and find some seeds. I’ll plant them in our backyard and you can have your trees back.”

He laughs a little, again. “Our trees, Sakura. You’re just as much an Uzumaki as I am.”

She beams. “Our trees, Baba.”

* * *

Bibi tends to her garden every day, stoops her old, tired back to weed and water and tenderly care for the vegetables (and fruits!), and Sakura loves to help Bibi. It’s hard work, but she likes it. Getting her hands dirty as she digs into the ground and _yanks_ is fun, even if she gets so much stuck under her little stubby nails. She likes picking all the food, too, knowing all this yummy squash and carrots and tomatoes are going right onto the table and into her belly.

Her grandmother is old, her short cropped hair turned white, but Sakura really does look like her. They have the same forehead, the same face shape. The same reddish-brown skin, like leaves in autumn or the deep brown carnelian stones on Mama’s necklace.

Sakura looks like her Bibi, and she loves it very much.

“Bibi,” the little girl says one day, as she works at a particularly stubborn root. “Do you miss Kumo?”

She long knows her grandparents’ story. How Baba fled to Kumogakure after Uzushio was destroyed, and how he and Bibi fell in love. How they eloped to Konoha, because Bibi’s parents didn’t approve, and how Mama was born here. But she’s never thought to ask this question.

Her grandmother stops, and carefully sets aside her small trowel, folding old, creaky legs to sit next to Sakura. “Why the question, petal?”

The pinkette shrugs. “I’unno. Baba misses Uzushio, but he can’t go back. Do you miss Kumo? Do you wanna go back?”

Bibi inhales and exhales slowly, before reaching over to set one dirty hand on Sakura’s pink hair. On her _Uzumaki_ hair. “I… do miss Kumo, sometimes. I miss my parents. I wonder if they’re alive, sometimes.”

Sakura crinkles up her nose at that. “I… don’t think so, Bibi,” she tries delicately. “They would be very old…”

She laughs raspily. “Oh, it’s possible. They could be.”

“Okay.” The little girl doubts it, but it doesn’t matter. She doesn’t want to make Bibi sad, anyway.

Bibi ruffles her granddaughter’s hair, and then pulls back. “I do miss Kumo, petal. I miss the clouds, most of all. We were hidden far up in the mountains, so high we were in the sky itself.”

That sounds very cool. _So_ cool, and Sakura grins. “Could you see the whole world, Bibi? That’s really high!”

She laughs again, but nods. “When there weren’t any clouds… it felt like you could.” Bibi’s smile turns a little sad. “I had… a favorite spot, up on one of the smaller mountains. It was close enough to the village I could go whenever I wanted to, but there wasn’t anything there. It was so good for watching the stars on clear nights. That was where your Baba proposed to me…”

“That’s so romantic!” Sakura is all of five years old, and romantic gestures are Very Very Important. It’s why her Baba is so good. She loves him lots.

“If we can ever go to Kumo, petal, I’ll show you my favorite spot.” Bibi sighs heavily. “But Konoha and Kumo don’t like each other very much.”

Sakura knows this. She knows this very well, and she nods. “If Kumo and Konoha are every friends, we’ll go,” the little girl promises. “Me and you and Mama and Baba. Even if Baba can’t see them anymore! We’ll all go and it will be really good. I promise. We can have a picnic.”

She’s already trying to figure out what the best foods to bring on a Kumo picnic would be when Bibi ruffles her hair, this time, getting a handful of dirt in it. Sakura _squawks,_ absolutely indignant as she tries to hastily brush it out, and Bibi laughs.

“I’ll hold you to that, petal.”

* * *

Sakura doesn’t get to see Mama as often as she likes. Mama is busy so much, always at work – the little girl isn’t sure what work is, but it involves a lot of papers to be filled out and late nights and circles under Mama’s eyes – but Mama makes sure that every month, she has a _whole day off_ to spend with Sakura.

She loves Sakura Day. It’s a really good day.

This Sakura Day, Mama decides to take Sakura to the aquarium. It’s a _travelling_ aquarium, going from place to place, glass cases of fish set up in a nice, well-lit tent, and everyone goes. Baba in his wheelchair and Bibi pushing behind him, and Sakura on her Mama’s shoulders.

It’s so very _cool._

There’s lots of brightly colored fish in those big glass cases, flitting to and fro and shining in the light, and she giggles. Baba is more than happy to interrogate the poor guide-host-person when he reveals that the fish are preserved and kept happy and safe via seals. He always loves his seals. “It’s an Uzumaki thing,” Mama whispers, like she’s not an Uzumaki herself, and Sakura giggles.

She asks to be put down after a little bit so she can run from case to case, pressing her nose and hands up against it as she stares with bright, wide eyes. The little girl is pretty sure she’s not supposed to touch, but Baba has distracted the guide, so no one tells her to stop. Mama sure doesn’t, following along behind her daughter with a smile and pointing out certain fish.

“Mama, Mama, look! That one’s the same color as your hair!” Sakura announces, and Mama bends down to look and nod with agreement.

Her Mama is very pretty, Sakura knows. Her skin is the same reddish-brown as Bibi and Sakura – just a little bit lighter, because the other two are very dark – and her braided hair is the deep red that Baba’s once was. Her eyes are both Baba’s and Bibi’s, the same dark brown shade the both share, and she’s nice and plump and pretty.

Baba is the one that looks the least like everyone else, but when they all stand together, everyone knows they’re part of the same family. Baba’s smile is Sakura’s, and Baba’s face shape is Mama’s, too – you can see where everyone gets everything, where the traits pass down, where everything comes from.

Except one thing.

“Sakura,” Mama says, pointing to another fish. “That one’s the same as your eyes, look.”

The little girl surveys it with intent, and nods after ascertaining that yes, Mama is Very Right And That Is Her Eye Color. “And Papa’s eyes, too, right, Mama?”

Mama’s face goes a little sad, a little quiet, like it always does when Sakura asks about Papa. “Yes, petal,” she says softly. “You have the same eyes.”

Sakura nods, considering this, and she stares at the fish. It’s small, just like her, with pretty green frills that flash rainbow in the light. “But he still didn’t want me?”

Her Mama jolts, surprised, and almost loses her balance. “What? What gave you that idea? Papa wanted you very much.”

She doesn’t turn to look at her mother, instead leaning forward to press her nose firmly against the glass again. “But he’s not here, and we’re not in Iwa with Papa. If he wanted me, why don’t I know him?”

Mama’s gaze softens, and she wraps an arm around Sakura, pulling her towards her mother’s plump bulk and away from the glass. “Papa was married,” she says. “And not to me.”

That doesn’t make much sense to Sakura. “But didn’t Papa love you?” She finally looks up at her Mama at that, and Mama… Mama looks like she’s about to _cry_ for two seconds, about to start making tears right here and oh no Sakura didn’t want to make Mama _cry,_ before her mother swallows and the look disappears.

“I think so, petal,” she says, squeezing Sakura to her side. “Papa didn’t love his wife – but he couldn’t leave her. It was an arranged marriage.”

Sakura knows what an arranged marriage was. It was in one of her storybooks. Princess Kasumi had to marry Prince Hikaru, but Prince Hikaru was so so _mean_ , so Princess Kasumi ran away and met Arata, a nice farmer boy who she married after he helped her take down the evil Prince. Papa’s wife must have not been as mean as Prince Hikaru, because she’s sure that if she _was,_ Papa would’ve ran away to live with Mama.

She… kind of wishes Papa’s wife was as bad as Prince Hikaru.

“So that’s when you stopped travelling and came back to Konoha?” Sakura asks, and Mama nods.

“Yes. Baba and Bibi were happy to see me.”

Sakura can imagine. She doesn’t like going for a long time without really seeing Mama, like a week or so, so she can’t imagine Mama being really _really_ gone, not just busy, and for years like she was before she had Sakura. It sounds terrible.

“Okay,” the little girl says, and they move along to the next glass case.

* * *

For one month straight, Sakura is the one to check the mail every single day. She skips out the door, down the short little path, and opens the mailbox at the end. Armed with the bundle of whatever happens to be in the box, she heads back inside and spreads her collection out on the table.

Most of it goes to Mama. A few things go to Bibi, sometimes. Even fewer to Baba.

Nothing for Sakura.

She tries not to pout, she really does. But she’s _eager._ She wants to _know._ Sakura gets over it, anyway, going upstairs to read a book or talk to Baba or garden with Bibi or maybe knit or cook or-

Regardless, Sakura has a _lot_ of things she can do, at five years old.

But she still checks the mail every single day.

Finally, on March 5th, something is different. Something has changed.

There’s a letter in the mail for Sakura.

The little girl _wants_ to rip it open, she does. She really, really does. But she’s a Proper And Polite Little Girl, so she very carefully opens it instead, making sure she doesn’t rip the envelope.

There it is. There’s what she’s been waiting for for a month, and screw the proper and polite thing, Sakura _bolts_ out the back door to where Baba and Bibi are sitting in the swing enjoying the sunlight. “Baba!” She calls, almost tripping over herself as she runs, barefoot, across the backyard, and just managing to catch herself in time. “Bibi!”

She bolts through the grass, past the garden, and _jumps_ to a halt, landing firmly in front of her grandparents as she excitedly presents the letter. “Look, look!”

“I got accepted into the Academy! I’m gonna be a ninja!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last longfic i'm starting for awhile, but I... really had to write this one. more tags will be added as more major characters appear.
> 
> i'm terribly excited for this fic. no current update schedule planned, though.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is not a genderbend. just fyi.

They sit in alphabetical order.

“Just for this week,” the man who introduced himself as ‘Iruka-sensei’ says. “That way, we can learn all your names. After that, you can sit wherever you want.”

Sakura thinks that he means she can sit with her friends, and she very much hopes that she’ll have friends to sit with when this week is all done with. She’s not sure. She’s never really had the chance to spend time with other kids, and it’s kind of scary. It’s not like home, where she knows Mama and Baba and Bibi just as much as she knows herself.

This week, though, she’s sitting by two strangers. She’s at the very end of one of the side rows, by the window. It’s a good seat. It means she can peek outside at the currently-empty grounds that surround the Academy and feel the sun on her face.

On the opposite end of the row is an Uchiha – she knows that before they even do their introductions, because he’s got the symbol on the back of his shirt and when you see an Uchiha you just _know,_ just like once upon a time you saw red hair and thought _Uzumaki._

But there’s no red hair in this class.

There _is_ a little girl sitting next to her, though, between Sakura and the Uchiha, with the brightest blonde hair and the biggest blue eyes and some strange marks on her tanned cheeks that Sakura thinks must be clan marks of some kind. Her hair is very short, messily cropped as if she had taken scissors to her own hair and hacked at it until it was left short and chunky, and Sakura thinks that must’ve been what happened. She’s getting that kind of vibe from her.

Around the classroom they go, bit by bit, introducing themselves. There’s lots of clan kids, but also a lot of civilian kids. A Hyuga who stutters so much they can barely get their name out. An Inuzuka with a dog on his head. A painfully polite Kurama who stares at the blackboard the entire time she speaks.

Sakura’s right – her neighbor is an Uchiha. Uchiha Sasuke. But she’s wrong about the blonde.

That little girl with the choppy hair stands up, very firm and very loud. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto!” she says, and Sakura stares at her and forgets how to breathe. She grins, fierce and firm. “I’m gonna be the next Hokage!”

Sasuke snorts and Naruto rounds on him and Iruka-sensei steps forward to diffuse the ensuing argument, but Sakura can’t hear anything over the white noise ringing in her ears. _Uzumaki._ It’s one thing, hearing Baba tell her all about how all the Uzumakis spread out all over the world and there weren’t very many of them left because the Bad People who had destroyed Uzushio wanted to destroy them to and she just-

She stares at her.

Naruto doesn’t notice the stare, too busy grumbling at Iruka-sensei as she settles into her seat, and then Sakura has to stop staring because Iruka-sensei looks at _her_ and _oh no she’s next._

Dread settles into her stomach as she slowly, slowly rises, brown hands curling in her little orange sundress. Sakura looks down at her desk in front of her and feels the heat rise in her cheeks – she’s so grateful it’s not visible, so so grateful she’s not as pale as Sasuke – and she tries to talk. “My… I’m…” She can’t find the words. “Sakura. I’m Sakura,” she whispers. “U… U… Uzumaki Sakura.”

She can _hear_ Naruto whip around to stare at her, but Sakura keeps her gaze focused on the desk. It’s. It’s embarrassing, and makes her tummy feel so funny, and it’s Just Not Fun to be standing here like this so she sits down very fast and her knees knock into the legs of the desk.

“You’ll get a chance to talk to your classmates _later,_ ” Iruka-sensei says, but his voice isn’t harsh, and Sakura really wants to know what Naruto’s face looks like.

She doesn’t look – but she can feel the other Uzumaki’s eyes boring into the side of her head all throughout class.

* * *

Naruto tries to talk to her exactly once, but Iruka-sensei throws a piece of chalk at the blonde’s head and she subsides next to Sakura, grumbling under her breath. The pink-haired girl is very glad that the class goes without incident – mostly just explanations of what they’ll be doing in the future, which is great, because she’s pretty sure she’s not retaining any of this.

Iruka-sensei announces that the girls will be leaving for kunoichi class and the boys will be waiting right here to meet THEIR sensei for when that’s going on, so Sakura awkwardly pushes to her feet.

Naruto grabs her arm.

For a moment, Sakura just stares at the hand on her arm. Naruto’s palm is callused, and her skin is darker than Sasuke’s next to her but lighter than Sakura’s – an in between. Her nails haven’t been clipped, clearly bitten down to the stubby length they are, and slowly, slowly, slowly, Sakura drags her eyes up to meet Naruto’s.

“Hi,” Naruto says, looking terrified and hopeful all at once.

They can’t really talk here – they have to go to their next class, and Iruka-sensei is already shooting them a _look_ that Sakura can’t quite read but there’s definitely some irritation in there – but the little girl can’t ignore her seatmate and so she swallows sharply. “Hi,” she says, too.

For a moment, they just stand there, staring at each other, before Iruka-sensei gives into his irritation and starts hustling them along. Naruto starts and Sakura starts and they both MOVE and oh they’re.

Holding hands.

That’s okay, Sakura thinks.

They hold hands all the way to outside of the building and Sakura Does Not Look at Naruto’s face, and they hold hands as they sit cross-legged in the grass and they hold hands as Sakura fails to absorb any of the lesson and they hold hands as they break for snack.

Most of the kids scramble up to get their snack, but Naruto and Sakura just. Sit. And don’t say anything for a second.

Naruto breaks the silence.

“You’re… a Uzumaki?” she asks, this quiet desperation in her voice. “I never… met another Uzumaki ‘afore.”

Sakura nods and stares at the patch of grass in front of her. “Uh-uh. And my Mama’s a Uzumaki and my Baba’s a Uzumaki and since my Bibi married my Baba she’s a Uzumaki too. We’re all apart ‘a the same clan.”

“We’re-“

“What’s wrong with _you_ losers?” a girl asks, and both Naruto and Sakura look up. It’s a civilian girl with purple hair, two other girls flanking her sides, all of them smug as can be. “My mama says that Uzumaki is a _menace._ Does that mean both of you?”

Sakura stares wide eyed and hurt hurt hurt because she’s _not_ a menace she’s _not,_ but Naruto hauls straight up to her feet and shoves the girl over. “I’m not a menace!” Naruto shouts, and the other girl starts to cry.

* * *

Naruto gets in trouble.

Ami – the mean girl – and the other two girls clamor on about how Naruto started it, they were just trying to be NICE and Naruto PUSHED her and when Suzume-sensei asks Sakura, she just bursts into tears so Naruto ends up getting in trouble.

Sakura feels really bad about that.

It means that when they get out from their little half day of a first day of school, Naruto has to stay behind. Naruto clutches Sakura’s hand so hard hard hard it HURTS, but Sakura can’t stay because Baba and Bibi are waiting for her. “Naruto,” Sakura says. “I’ll be here tomorrow, I… I promise.”

Naruto is really nice and really sad and she’s also a Uzumaki so Sakura wants to be her friend. She’s never had a friend before. Naruto just looks up at Sakura with the biggest blue eyes she’s ever seen. “You mean it?”

Sakura nods. “Promise. We can talk all about- about secret Uzumaki stuff.” Like trees. Maybe Naruto has more Uzushio stories from HER family. That’s a cheery thought!

The blonde nods solemnly and then stands up to wrap Sakura in a tight tight hug, so tight she feels her bones crackling like a sparkler, but then Iruka-sensei swoops in to part the two and Sakura’s headed out to meet her family.

All three of them are there. Even Baba, in his wheelchair! Sakura goes flying into Mama, who scoops her up and swings her around and plants kisses all over her face until the little girl is a mess of giggles. “How was your first day?” she asks, and Sakura has to seriously consider it.

Well, she had cried. And been really scared. And not paid attention to anything in class. But… she met another Uzumaki! More family! “It was really good,” she decides, and she tells Mama and Baba and Bibi all about her day.

* * *

All three of them argue that night. Mama, Baba, and Bibi, having hushed and not-so-hushed conversations in the kitchen. Sakura can’t hear it completely, but she creeps down the hall from her room and presses her ear to the wall and tries so very hard.

“Naruto-“ she hears Mama say, and she suddenly pays rapt attention. “Should’ve- Didn’t guess-“

Baba speaks up next. “You know- Sakura chooses- Rubbish- Mito-“

Naruto. They’re saying something about Naruto, but there’s too many fragments for Sakura to understand what. She hears “parents” and “reputation” and “work” and “father” and too many things that don’t add up, because what’s so important about this? About Naruto?

Is this… because Naruto is a ‘menace’?

Sakura tries to listen more, she really does, but maybe they know she’s there because the voices get even quieter, and everything she hears means nothing.

She’s really not sure what this is about. Why was there another Uzumaki running around this whole time she didn’t know of? She had asked her family earlier, but they had said they never met Naruto, and since Naruto didn’t know about Sakura she had thought they were telling the truth.

But now… Sakura’s pretty sure they’re lying.

The little girl creeps back down the hallway, avoiding any creaky boards, and trundles back into bed, pulling the covers up over her head and staring at the pink frabric.  She’s thinking a lot, for being all of five years old. About Naruto’s sad face and random Uzumakis and her family _lying_ and, last not not least-

Who is Mito?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> repeating: not a genderbend!!! you will understand what's going down with naruto eventually. promise. it's from sakura's pov and thus some things that are canon are. different from her pov. it will be addressed and explained!!! promise!
> 
> anyway thanks for the love y'all!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to Berbear, whose lovely comment on the last chapter inspired me to quickly get another one out before I had to go to work today!

“The Uzumaki clan was… was from Uzushio,” she tells the other girl the next day at snacktime. The blonde’s eyes are huge, eager, gobbling down every single scrap of information the same way that she gobbles down the crackers Sakura brought. “But it got destroyed.”

“Who did it?” Naruto asks, interested, and Sakura stops. Considers.

“Bad people,” she says, very firmly. “I think they’re… they’re all dead now. Cause… Cause Baba was in Uzushio and he’s _real old,_ an’- an’ so anyone who destroyed it should be dead by now.”

Naruto bobs her head in agreement. It makes sense to both of them. There’s not really the thought to question anymore. “An’ they ‘stroyed Uzu- U-zu-shi-o ‘cause we was strong, right?”

Sakura nods her head, too. Uzushio and the Uzumaki were REAL strong, ARE real strong even if there’s not as many, now, and she’s determined to be yet another strong Uzumaki, yet another strong Uzushio member.

They’re quiet for a moment, and then Sakura has to ask her own question. “Did… did your parents not tell you about Uzushio? Or… or your Baba and Bibi?”

Naruto stares off at the wall for a second, slowly chewing the crackers, and then she swallows. “Don’t got none,” she says, and Sakura feels a pang deep down in her tummy, an aching pain that makes her want to cry.

“I… I’m sorry,” she says, quietly, and she looks down at her desk. “I don’t… my Papa’s in Iwa. I never met him.”

It’s not like having NOBODY, of course, but it’s still. Something. She guesses. And Naruto nods slowly and gives her a smile. “Sorry,” she says, too. “Can… Can you tell me more ‘bout U-zu-shi-o?”

Sakura is more than happy to oblige.

* * *

Class is hard to pay attention in, hard to sit still that long, and she and Naruto are more than ready to run outside with their lunches the moment that lunch time hits with a whoop and a yell and a tumble into the grass. Sakura laughs, and it feels nice. It feels good.

It’s only the second day of class, and she has a friend. A _relative._

“Naruto,” she tells the other girl seriously. “Do you wanna meet my Mama and my Baba and my Bibi?”

The blonde looks at her, but they’re so close, sitting shoulder to shoulder against the side of the building that Naruto nearly goes cross-eyed looking at her. It’s a cross-eyed look of surprise, of wonder, of absolute astonishment. “You… you want me to meet them?”

Sakura nods jerkily. “Well, m-my Mama’s at work but. You could meet Baba and Bibi and Baba could tell you lotsa stories ‘bout Uzumakis and stuff.”

She looks down at her sandwich and her tummy turns over inside. Maybe she doesn’t, maybe Naruto doesn’t really want to and instead just. Maybe it’s too much because it’s only her second day of knowing Naruto and Sakura doesn’t know how friends work, she’s never had any ‘afore and Naruto is _so nice_ and _so brave_ so she’s probably got LOTS and-

“Yes! Yes!” Naruto says, reaching out and grabbing Sakura’s hands and the pink-haired girl jerks up, staring her right in the eyes, so so close she can feel Naruto’s breath on her face. “I wanna- I wanna meet them, Sakura! Can I?”

Her heart feels like it’s gonna stop in her chest, just gonna go thump thump thump _stop,_ cause she’s so happy and nervous and kinda sad all at the same time that it just wraps up inside her and she nods jerkily. “Y-Yeah. You can…” She glances away, all shy-like. “Um. Wanna come… over after school, today?”

“Yes!” Naruto throws her arms around Sakura, and both girls tumble to the grass. After a moment, Sakura giggles, and Naruto starts laughing, too, and it doesn’t matter how many people stare at them cause they’re a bunch of happy Uzumakis and that’s how it should be.

* * *

Bibi is the one who picks Sakura up from after school. Naruto made extra sure to be extra good, for the rest of the day, paying very close attention to class and it made Iruka-sensei look at her _awful_ funny, but it worked. She didn’t get into any trouble so she could be right there next to Sakura while they waited in the yard for Bibi to pick them up.

They’re playing tag, running after each other with giggles and shrieks and not caring that nobody else wants to play with them, when Bibi calls. “Sakura!” she says, and Sakura stumbles to a halt. Naruto doesn’t stop herself in time, though, plowing right into Sakura and sending both of the girls down again.

Sakura groans under the weight of skinny little Naruto on top of her, and Bibi laughs, her shadow looming over both of them as she stoops, brown eyes twinkling as she offers Naruto a hand up, and then Sakura. “Having fun?” she asks, and Sakura nods nods nods.

“Bibi!” she tells her, grinning. “This is Uzumaki Naruto! This is who I was talking about!”

Something… changes, in Bibi’s face. It’s not an emotion that the little girl can quite put a word to, but she looks over at Naruto, looks her from top to bottom. “Uzumaki Naruto, huh?” Bibi says.

Naruto looks nervous. So, so, deeply nervous, playing with the hem of her overlarge T-shirt and scuffing her sandal on the ground and not looking her in the eye. “Y-Yes, ma’am,” she says very quietly.

Sakura doesn’t like seeing her new friend like this. It’s. Wrong. Naruto should be loud and stuff and Sakura should be the quiet one, ‘cept she’s not so quiet with her family and she guesses not as quiet with Naruto, either, which makes sense ‘cause Naruto’s an _Uzumaki_ and that means family, too. “Bibi,” Sakura asks plaintively, and her grandmother turns her gaze to her. “Can Naruto come over today? I- I told her Baba could tell her lots and lots of Uzushio stories.”

Bibi looks at Naruto, at that. “You want to hear stories about Uzushio?” she asks, and Naruto nods frantically, not looking up.

“Y-Yeah. I… I never hearda U-zu-shi-o afore.” She pronounces the name of the village slowly, sounding out each syllable so she can get it right. “Didn’t… didn’t know there was other Uzumakis til Sakura.”

At that, Bibi smiles, like the sun burning through the clouds around the mountains, the whole world shining through. “Of course,” she says. “You’re more than welcome to come over.”

She offers one hand to Sakura, who slips hers in automatically, and then offers the other to Naruto, who takes it, shaking with wonder, and they walk all the way back home.

* * *

Baba loves Naruto the moment they meet. Naruto climbs up into Baba’s wheelchair and sits on his lap and Baba pats her head. Sakura sits right next to her, both of the girls filling up the elderly man’s chair.

“So you really can’ see me?” Naruto asks, kind of awed, and Baba laughs, gently patting her head.

“Nope,” he says, shaking his head. “I could see, once upon a time, but not anymore.” Baba squints at Naruto, as if he narrows his eyes enough he can see her. “Tell me, what color is your hair?”

The blonde girl blinks once, twice, surprised, and reaches up to tug on one of her shorn locks. “Um, yellow.”

Baba nods slowly. “You must get it from your non-Uzumaki parent,” he says. “Uzumakis have red hair.” He pauses, amends. “Or pink hair, like petal, here.”

Sakura’s face turns so terribly hot, so warm it makes her feel dizzy, as Naruto’s gaze whips around to land on her. “Petal?” she asks, surprised.

“She’s a sakura flower, and her hair is pink like its petals,” Baba says, laughter in his voice, and Sakura is so so horribly embarrassed her tummy is swelling up inside and she wants to die.

Naruto smiles, though, bright and cheerful and maybe a little sad. “I like it,” she tells Sakura.

She doesn’t. Didn’t. Doesn’t expect that and she stares for a moment before she looks down at her lap, feeling her shoulder press into Naruto’s. “You… You can call me it, if you wanna,” she says softly, and there’s a sudden silence from both Baba and Naruto. “Cause… cause you’re a Uzumaki. So that… makes us a clan and stuff. Right?”

Sakura looks up at her Baba, who is uncharacteristically silent, uncharacteristically solemn, because he’s the head of the Uzumaki Clan, she thinks he must be, ‘cause there isn’t anyone else. “Right, Baba? Naruto’s clan, right?”

He’s quiet for one long moment, before he gently rests his hands on both of their heads. “Of course, petal. She’s an Uzumaki, isn’t she?”

Naruto tries to hide the way she sniffles, and neither of them comments on it.

* * *

Mama comes home at probably the _worst_ time. It’s kind of ridiculous, even, how bad the timing is. They’re fingerpainting! Baba and Bibi got them all set up at the kitchen table with paints and papers and towels and water to clean their hands off with, bellies full from the soup that Bibi had cooked them.

Naruto reaches out to trace a line of green down Sakura’s cheek, the same color as her eyes, and Sakura shrieks and puts a big handprint of _red_ in Naruto’s hair and the next thing they know they’re painting each other’s faces the colors of the rainbow and that’s when Mama walks in.

The girls freeze.

Mama stares at them, purse slung over her shoulder and bags under her eyes. “What,” she says, completely baffled, and Sakura can’t help but burst into giggles and a very nervous Naruto follows and Mama just shakes her head at the both of them. “You’re cleaning all that up,” she tells them, stepping over to set her purse on the counter, opening the fridge and taking out some of the leftover soup.

She turns, then, and gives Naruto a warm smile. “You must be Naruto.” The blonde looks a little startled at that, and Mama’s smile grows even gentler. “Sakura mentioned you, yesterday. I didn’t know there were any other Uzumaki in Konoha.”

Naruto straightens up, sitting prim and proper in her chair – an effect kind of ruined by the paint streaking her hair and face – and nods sharply. Sakura had told her that Mama was the one to impress, that Baba and Bibi were always super nice always but Mama was the one in charge even if Baba was the head of the Clan. (Naruto had looked confused, but it made sense to Sakura.) “Y-Yes, ma’am. I didn’t… didn’t know, either. ‘til Sakura told me.”

Mama looks over her, for a moment. Looks over this little girl with scissor-cut hair and ill-fitting clothes and paint streaked all over, looking so desperately eager to please and be accepted and… she nods. “Welcome to the clan, then. It’s always good to have another Uzumaki.”

Naruto sniffles, and Sakura reaches over to hold her hand and the blonde gives her a watery, grateful smile.

“Now, both of you better clean this on up, and then take a bath,” Mama says, and both of the little girls nod nod nod. “Naruto, are you spending the night?”

They look at each other, wide-eyed. They hadn’t even _thought_ about that. Naruto drags her stare away from Sakura and up to Mama’s face. “Can… can I?” she asks, fragile and oh-so-hopeful, and Mama nods. “Y-Yes, yes, then I wanna spend the night!”

“Okay,” Mama says, and it’s the kind of indulgent little smile she gives Sakura. “Then you gotta clean the kitchen and take a bath, alright? You can borrow some of Sakura’s pajamas.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Yes, Mama!”

* * *

They scrub the kitchen from top to bottom and pick up all the paint and lay out their pictures to dry and scramble down the hall to Sakura’s bedroom. She stops, right before she opens the door, and feels suddenly shy. She’s never showed anybody else her bedroom before. It’s kinda scary.

Sure, she’s never had anyone else over to her house before, but her house is _different._ Her house is Mama and Baba and Bibi’s, but this room is just Sakura’s and Sakura’s alone and she fiercely hopes that Naruto likes it.

“Um, this… this is my bedroom,” she says, and she opens the door.

Sakura really likes her bedroom. Her walls are painted white, with a cherry blossom tree painted on one wall, its branches and flowers extending across her ceiling. Her floor is wood, with a pink carpet in the middle, and her comforter a soft green. All the wood is dark, the wood of her bedframe, her wardrobe, her desk, and she thinks it looks very pretty. Naruto stares, and there’s a sparkle in her eye that unties the knot in Sakura’s chest, just a little bit.

“It’s… it’s great,” Naruto says, stumbling and lacking the words, and she smiles. “We’re gonna sleep in here tonight?”

She nods. “Yeah. We can share the bed, it’s big enough, I think.”

They strip down to nothing and toss their clothes all over the floor and run starkers down the hall to the bathroom to where Bibi is running a bath. “Let me get you all scrubbed up, first,” Bibi says, and she scrubs and scrubs with sudsy soap and chilly water til there’s no paint left but just two little girls, and they splash into the hot water.

“This is Princess Kasumi,” Sakura informs Naruto seriously, offering the other girl one of her plastic dolls. “She’s a princess and she was ‘upposed to get married to evil Prince Hikaru, so she ran away.”

Naruto takes it gingerly, looking down at the naked doll with wide eyes. “Why’d she run?” she asks. “I woulda kicked his butt.” She nods at that.

Sakura huffs at him. “She’s not a _ninja._ She’s a princess! She can’t fight.”

“Oh.” Naruto makes a face. “Do you gotta doll that can fight?”

The other girl considers long and hard for a moment, before fishing around in the tub and pulling out another naked plastic doll, offering him up to Naruto. “This is Arata,” she says. “He’s a farmer and he and Kasumi fall in _love_ and he fights the evil Prince Hikaru and he wins.”

Naruto takes the doll, much cheered, and passes Kasumi back over to Sakura. “Great! I’mma be Arata! And you’re Kasumi?”

Sakura nods. “And I’m really scared and hiding in your barn, okay? Cause I don’t know anybody, and Hikaru is after me, so you gotta find me when you wake up and…”

* * *

They get the bathroom covered with water, which makes Bibi kinda sigh, but she just pats them dry with towels and sends them off to get all dressed in pajamas while she cleans it up.

A pretty purple nightgown is Sakura’s pajamas of choice, with some pretty pink flower embroidery on the hem that Baba did with his shaking hands, but when she tries to offer Naruto a pretty white nightgown she has, the blonde refuses. “I don’t wear dresses,” she says, and oh. Okay.

She stares at Naruto for a moment after she says that, as Naruto’s cheeks darken, just a bit, but then she nods. “Okay,” Sakura says, and she bends down to root around in her drawer for some of those pajamas. She thinks she has a pair shoved in the very back.

Naruto takes that opportunity to ask a question. “Sakura,” she says. “I…” The other girl glances back at her, and the blonde nearabout squirms where she stands. “Why’re you wearing a dress if you’re a boy?”

Sakura stares. She stares extra hard and tries to ignore the way her tummy turns over in itself as she stands up, a pair of red pajamas in her hands. “I’m not a boy,” she says, very quietly. “I’m a girl.”

“You… are?” Naruto looks bewildered, and Sakura tries not to cry.

“Y-Yeah. I… I am.”

Maybe Naruto can see it, because she stops and looks at the other girl very seriously. “Okay,” she says. “Sorry. I didn’t… didn’t mean nothin’ by it. Jus’ confused.”

Sakura gives her a very small smile. “It’s okay.”

* * *

They curl up on the couch and watch a movie together. It’s a Princess Kasumi movie, one of Sakura’s favorites, and the both of them curl up real close underneath a big blanket. Baba and Bibi go to bed ‘cause they don’t stay up too late, but Mama is right next to Sakura, her arm wrapped around her.

Naruto falls asleep halfway through the movie, and Sakura waits to make sure the other girl is really, _really_ asleep before she says anything. “Mama,” the little girl says, watching Arata hug the princess so tight, like he never wants to let her go. “I heard you, last night. You were… talking ‘bout Naruto.”

Mama hums, squeezing Sakura tight, and watches the same scene with heavy eyes. “Yes,” she says. “I’m sorry for lying to you, petal.”

Sakura sniffles, and wipes at her eyes. “Why… Why’d you lie? An’ why… if you knew ‘bout Naruto, why didn’t…?”

She presses a kiss to the little girl’s pink Uzumaki hair. “Sometimes, petal. Even if you want to do the right thing, you’re not allowed to. It’s against the rules.”

That seems. Wrong. “Sometimes the rules make you do the wrong thing?”

Mama nods. “Sometimes, petal, sometimes.”

Sakura frowns. “I don’t like those rules, Mama. I don’t wanna follow bad rules like that.”

Her Mama hesitates, hand rubbing her arm, and shakes her head. “I won’t make you, petal. Even if… even if it’s against the rules, I always want you to do what’s right. Okay?”

She nods, dutiful as ever. “Okay, Mama. I promise.”

They watch the movie for a little more, Naruto shifting in her sleep next to them, and Sakura starts to drift off, too, slumping against her Mama. It’s been a busy day.

Mama presses another kiss to her daughter’s head. “Oh, Sakura,” she whispers, and Sakura can barely, barely hear her as her eyes fall shut. “You’re gonna take this world by storm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quietly adds a very relevant tag since it came up this chapter
> 
> thanks so much for your lovely comments!! i'm having a ton of fun with this and how it's changing things - and y'all haven't even seen the most of it. i've got PLANS, man, PLANS.
> 
> anyway sakura and naruto baby fluff is what i live for


	4. Chapter 4

One sleepover turns into two. Turns into three. Turns into four, five, six, until Naruto has spent the night every single night for a whole week.

“Mama,” Sakura asks over Sunday night dinner, because it’s all five of them so she can properly ask the question. “Is Naruto gonna stay forever?”

Naruto freezes, and Mama takes a moment to chew her bite of grilled pepper slowly, before she swallows. “I… don’t know, petal,” she says, and she turns to Naruto, who is staring at them all with wide wide eyes. “It’s not my decision to make.”

“Whose is it?” Sakura thinks it’s a perfectly reasonable question, but it makes Naruto look down at her meal and frown and Mama look pensive.

“It’s the Hokage’s decision.” She looks at Naruto. “He’ll be seeing you for his monthly visit soon, right?”

The Hokage visits _Naruto!?_ Sakura whips her head around to stare at her friend, who doesn’t look up and instead plays with the vegetables and noodles on her plate with her fork.

“…Yeah,” she says, and that’s all she says. That’s not very good, Sakura thinks.

“I’ve met the Hokage before,” pipes up Baba, and the little girl is quickly distracted. “We played shogi, and I won!”

Sakura huffs at him, gently kicking him under the table. “You didn’t! No way!”

He laughs. “Did so!”

* * *

Sakura mostly puts it out of her mind. Nothing comes up about the Hokage again, and Naruto keeps spending the night every night, so much that they’ve dragged the air mattress out of storage so they don’t have to share Sakura’s bed. (Which she is very happy about.)

Saturday seems like an ordinary Saturday. Baba and Bibi are out – on a “lunch date”, they said, which Sakura thinks is awful cute and she hopes someday when she’s a super old lady she has a super old husband to go on lunch dates with – and she and Naruto are drawing. Mama has the day off, which is really the only unusual thing, but Sakura doesn’t mind that!

The doorbell rings.

“I’ve got it,” says Mama, which is real good because Sakura doesn’t like talking to new people and Naruto is PANTS at talking to new people, so Mama is the best choice.

Sakura and Naruto are in the living room, in another room altogether, so they don’t pay much attention to the quiet murmuring they hear elsewhere in the house until someone clears their throat and they look up and there in the entranceway is the _Hokage._

He’s old and kinda scary looking and Sakura freezes but Naruto shuts down. “Old Man,” she says, really quiet, putting down her crayon. “Do I gotta leave now?”

It all clicks, in Sakura’s mind. The Hokage is visiting to take Naruto _back_ cause he’s not ‘ _upposed_ to stay here and he must be the one who made up those bad rules that Mama mentioned and- “No!” Sakura says, and she throws her arms around the girl sitting next to her, who looks incredibly stunned. “I want Naruto to stay!”

Naruto trembles, in her arms, and the Hokage slowly bends down on one knee to look her in the eye. “Your name is Sakura, right?” he asks, and Sakura doesn’t know how the Hokage knows her name but she nods. He probably just knows everybody’s. “How did you meet Naruto?”

Her sudden bravery is gone, now, and she half ducks behind Naruto, but still holds onto her and doesn’t let go. “We’re… we’re in the same class at school, an’… an’ we’re both Uzumakis, s-so…”

He nods. “Why did you decide to go to the Academy?”

Sakura hesitates, and glances up at Mama. She nods, encouraging her, and she takes a deep breath. “Um, b-because… cause Papa was a ninja. Mama said.”

The Hokage smiles, but it seems a very odd smile to her. “Of course.”

He straightens up and turns to Mama, and Sakura and Naruto look at each other, two terribly confused girls, and watch the proceedings raptly, like they’re a new Princess Kasumi movie. “What kind of person would I be,” Mama says, and she smiles, but it’s a weird smile that Sakura’s never seen before and it makes her tummy hurt, “If I didn’t let a family member spend the night?”

“Yes,” the Hokage says. “It’s only fitting, as a clan member.”

“Certainly. After all…” She narrows her eyes, just a little bit. “Wouldn’t it be odd if a clan member _wasn’t_ allowed to take care of another clan member?”

Naruto can’t take it anymore, fit to burst. “What d’ya mean!? Can I stay or not!?”

The Hokage turns to look at Naruto, and she doesn’t even squirm. Sakura thinks she’s so terribly brave. “Hm,” he says. “Naruto, do you want to stay here?”

She nods so fast her hair flaps. “Yes! Yes, I wanna stay!”

He smiles, then. “Then you can stay.”

* * *

The Hokage and Naruto leave to go to Naruto’s apartment to gather up the rest of her stuff, to close it all down, to make it so that Naruto is really really living with them, and it’s just Sakura and Mama. Her Mama scoops her up, resting the little girl on her hip, and they look at each other.

“You were tricky,” Sakura says, and Mama laughs.

“I can’t ever get anything by you, can I?”

Sakura shakes her head. “Nuh-uh. But I dunno, Mama… why…” She frowns. Sakura is a Very Smart Girl. She knows when words are weird and smiles are weird and the things people are saying don’t make any SENSE and something else is happening but she doesn’t know what, or how, or any of that. She just knows something’s wrong.

“Do you trust me, Sakura?” Mama asks, and Sakura doesn’t even have to think about it.

“Yes, Mama.”

Mama presses a kiss to Sakura’s hair. “Then I promise, I’ll explain everything to you when you’re older.”

Sakura surveys her Mama for a moment, before she sticks out her hand, pinky up. “Pinky promise?”

Her Mama’s pinky wraps around her own and squeezes. “Pinky promise, petal.”

* * *

Mama’s office turns into Naruto’s room.

She still sleeps in Sakura’s for a week more while all of Mama’s stuff gets moved out of it into her bedroom, and so they have time to decorate it. They paint beautiful orange flowered trees up her wall and onto her ceiling, give her a matching orange bedspread, paint the trim a deep blue, and Naruto is so terribly happy that she cries.

Sakura is pretty happy about getting her bedroom to herself again.

The office – now Naruto’s room – is right next to Sakura’s bedroom, though, so when the doors are open she can hear everything.

“Ma- Mrs. Uzumaki?” she hears Naruto softly say, one night. “Did you… one of my parents was… was an Uzumaki, right? Did you know ‘em?”

There’s a pause, a long pause, and Sakura wishes she could see Mama’s face, instead of being all wrapped up in her covers and waiting for Mama to come tuck her in. “I can’t tell you,” Mama finally admits. “I want to, but I can’t tell you.”

“Oh,” says Naruto softly, and she’s quiet for a second. “Can you… can you tell me if…” Naruto’s voice gets very, very small. “Were they nice? They didn’t… didn’t give me up or nothin’, did they?”

“No, Naruto, sunshine, no.” Mama is gentle, so gentle and so sweet. “They’re… They didn’t, I promise. They would have loved you and kept you forever if nothing had happened. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Naruto whispers, and Sakura pretends she can’t hear her friend cry.

* * *

It’s been a month since Naruto moved in. Then two. It feels like the blonde was always here, that Sakura was always tumbling after her or that Naruto was chasing after the other. Sakura still doesn’t make any other friends because people are scary, but Naruto always tells off the mean bullies. Naruto sort of has friends, has fun with some of the boys and roughhouses with them and laughs with them, but at the end of the day she still comes home with Sakura and it’s SAKURA’S hand she holds and it’s SAKURA she laughs with and hugs and has sleepovers with.

Mama’s birthday is in June, and Bibi makes a cake and Naruto and Sakura help her smother it in messy white frosting and shakily squeeze ‘Happy Birthday’ on the top of it. (Sakura does the ‘Happy’ and Naruto does the ‘Birthday’.) Sakura makes Mama a really pretty picture with a really pretty card that hangs on the fridge, but Naruto buys Mama a pretty little blue beaded bracelet.

“Baba helped me pick it out,” she says, squirming and looking down at the table to avoid her reaction. “Ya won’… Ya won’ take my money, so I gots to pay ya back some other way.”

Mama’s staring at the bracelet. She stares for it just a moment longer, before she slips it on, gets up, and scoops up Naruto, swinging the surprised blonde around and setting her on her hip. She tweaks Naruto’s nose. “You don’t need to pay me back, sunshine. You’re my girl. No need for that.”

Naruto stares at her with wide, wide eyes. “I’m… your girl?”

She nods. “Sakura’s my girl, and you’re my girl. I’ve got two now.”

Sakura is very interested in this statement. “Mama, does that mean we’re sisters?” Naruto snaps her head around to stare at Sakura in disbelief, and Sakura beams at her. “I’ve always wanted a little sister!”

Naruto frowns. “I’m not little.”

“Littler than me.”

That’s not something Naruto can really argue with, and she grumbles as Baba laughs softly. Mama presses a kiss to Naruto’s forehead and smiles. “You two can be sisters, if you want.”

Naruto looks. Very, very shy, all of a sudden, and her light brown skin darkens in a flush. “Does that…” She swallows. “Does that make ya my Mama?”

Mama looks at her. “Only if you want me to be, sunshine,” she says.

The blonde’s eyes well up with tears and she nods nods nods, throwing her arms around Mama’s neck and Mama squeezes her tight, real tight. “Oh, baby. This is an even better present than the bracelet.”

* * *

It takes them a very very long argument, but Sakura and Naruto decide to be twins. Naruto doesn’t know her birthday, anyway – and isn’t that _so sad?_ No cake or presents! – so Sakura decides that she can SHARE and that means that they’ve GOTTA be twins since they’re both five and nobody’s a whole year older.

So Sakura has a twin sister now. The thought is delightful.

She’s the only one in the WHOLE CLASS who has a twin – she means, not including Naruto – and it makes her so terribly happy to sit next to Naruto every single day. Sometimes they sit by Kiba, but most often whoever sits there sits there. Hinata is quiet and pays them no mind. Sasuke gets annoyed when they kick each other under the table but if they don’t make no fuss he doesn’t mind sitting by them. Shikamaru and Chouji would probably sit by them but Shikamaru and Chouji ALWAYS sit together so they don’t.

All the other girls are real real mean and don’t like Naruto – even Ino, which is sad because Ino is kinda nice to Sakura but she doesn’t like Naruto which means She And Sakura Will Not Be Friends – but Naruto’s started skipping kunoichi class (which Mama hasn’t gotten mad about, for some reason, because Naruto doesn’t skip ANYTHING else) so Sakura needs to find someone else to talk to.

Hinata’s fine. She’s quiet and turns red a lot and is even more scared of stuff than SAKURA is, so it’s the two quiet and shy girls TOGETHER, cause Sakura isn’t brave when she’s not with her sister, but one day they need a group of three for playacting and Sakura doesn’t want somebody mean to pick her. So.

“Excuse me?” Kurama Yakumo looks up at the hesitant question, looking impassively at Sakura. “Do you… do you wanna join our group? Me and Hinata?”

“…Okay,” she says, and she stands up to walk over.

She sits next to Naruto and Sakura the next day, even though she doesn’t say a single word.

* * *

A week later, Sakura sneaks into Naruto’s room after Mama’s tucked both of them in, and burrows her way under her bright orange comforter. “Naruto,” she whispers, and the other girl rolls over to blink at her in surprise.

“Sakura?” she asks. “What’re ya doin’ here?”

“Why’re you skipping kunoichi class?”

Naruto looks away. “Um… I…” She breathes in, breathes out, steels herself. “Sakura. Ya know how yer not a boy?”

Sakura feels a tiny little bad feeling in her tummy from being reminded, from thinking about that and she shoves it away because there’s more important things right now. She nods.

“I dunno if… I’m a girl.”

Oh. Sakura blinks at her- him- them. “Okay,” she says. “What are you then?”

Naruto stares right back. “I’mma boy. What else is there?”

“You don’t gotta be either.”

He – he!!! – mulls over that for one moment, before he shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I’m a boy. I don’t wanna be neither.” Naruto hesitates. “That’s… okay, right? Mama won’t mind?”

Sakura giggles. “I think Mama already knows. She hasn’t gotten mad you’re skipping kunoichi class.”

Naruto makes a face. “Guess so. Still tell her this week, and Baba and Bibi. They’ll all be okay?”

“Yep, yep, yep,” she says. “We all love you. You’re just a boy now.”

“It’s okay that we’re not gonna be sisters no more?”

She shrugs. “Yeah. Sides…” She smiles at him, and reaches out to hold his hand under the covers. “I’ve always wanted a little brother, you know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case you're confused, kurama yakumo is a naruto filler character. who will be utilized this fic. because HELLO there were so many interesting naruto filler girls and this one... this one fits into the plot. y'all will see.
> 
> anyway trans boy naruto!!! some of y'all guessed spot on. some of y'all didn't. doesn't matter. yay! sakura and naruto are ALWAYS trans to me, in every fic i write. thinking of them as cis is baffling. (and, technically, trans!naruto is canon bc of the whisker marks on boruto and himawari's cheeks. thanks kishi for the accidentally transness.)
> 
> this fic is probably going to start speeding up relatively soon - i'm not gonna hang around with them as children forever, i'm afraid - but we probably won't hit genin for a few more chapters. thanks for reading and for all your lovely comments!


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